Base Series · April 2000

Team Rocket: the first villain set, the first Secret Rare.

Eighty-three cards. The first "Dark" Pokémon, the introduction of the Secret Rare with Dark Raichu 83/82, and the closing chapter of the Base Series before the Gym era. Released April 2000 with 1st Edition and Unlimited print runs.

Era · Team Rocket Years · April 24, 2000
Team Rocket cover artwork

The set, in context

Team Rocket launched on April 24, 2000, six months after Fossil and the closing chapter of the original Base Series mainline. The expansion introduced two structural innovations to the TCG: Dark Pokémon as a card archetype (Pokémon stolen and trained by Team Rocket, mechanically distinct from their original counterparts) and Secret Rares, indicated by card numbers exceeding the official set count.

The Secret Rare in Team Rocket is Dark Raichu 83/82 — the first card in TCG history to use the "card number greater than set count" convention that has become standard for chase cards in every subsequent generation. PSA 10 1st Edition Dark Raichu is among the most expensive non-Charizard Base-era holos and the conceptual blueprint for every Secret Rare that followed.

Two print runs: 1st Edition and Unlimited. The 1st Edition print run was the smallest of any Wizards Base-era set. PSA 10 1st Edition Team Rocket holos consequently trade at premium levels relative to equivalent Jungle and Fossil cards. Team Rocket sits inside the broader Base Series as the closing fifth expansion before the Gym era opened with Gym Heroes.

Rarity breakdown

16
Holo Rares
18
Rares
26
Uncommons
22
Commons
1
Energies

The three print runs

Reading the variant on a Base Set card takes thirty seconds and is the foundational skill of vintage Pokémon collecting. The price gap between print runs is roughly an order of magnitude per tier.

1st Edition

How to identify

"Edition 1" stamp printed under the bottom-left corner of the artwork frame.

The first commercial print of Team Rocket. Smallest 1st Edition run of the Base Series; PSA 10 1st Edition Team Rocket holos command the highest premiums in the Base Series outside of Base Set itself.

Unlimited

How to identify

No "Edition 1" stamp. Standard drop-shadow artwork frame.

Mass-market reprint that ran through 2000. Larger print run; the more common version in secondary markets.

The chase cards

The cards that drive collector demand and define the secondary market for Team Rocket. PSA 10 examples of these are mid-five-figure to six-figure assets in their 1st Edition print runs.

Pokémon Dark Raichu 83/82
83/82 Secret Rare

Dark Raichu

The first Secret Rare in TCG history. Card number exceeds the official 82-card count, a chase mechanic that has been standard in every TCG generation since. PSA 10 1st Edition Dark Raichu trades in the mid-five figures as of 2026 and is the unambiguous flagship of Team Rocket.

Pokémon Dark Charizard 4/82
4/82 Holo Rare

Dark Charizard

The Team Rocket version of Charizard. Materially scarcer than Base Set Charizard in 1st Edition; PSA 10 1st Edition Dark Charizard trades in the high four to low five figures as of 2026.

Pokémon Dark Blastoise 3/82
3/82 Holo Rare

Dark Blastoise

Team Rocket Blastoise. Strong demand from collectors building the Dark starter trio (Dark Charizard, Dark Blastoise, with no official Dark Venusaur — see below).

Pokémon Dark Dragonite 5/82
5/82 Holo Rare

Dark Dragonite

Team Rocket Dragonite. Companion to Fossil Dragonite as a thematic pair. PSA 10 1st Edition appreciated meaningfully through 2024-2026.

Pokémon Dark Weezing 14/82
14/82 Holo Rare

Dark Weezing

Iconic for its association with Team Rocket's Koffing/Weezing in the anime. Strong character-driven collector demand.

Pokémon Dark Magneton 11/82
11/82 Holo Rare

Dark Magneton

Electric-type holo. Mid-tier demand within the Dark holo set.

Pokémon Dark Gyarados 8/82
8/82 Holo Rare

Dark Gyarados

Karpfolio-relevant for obvious reasons. The Magikarp evolution in Team Rocket form. Strong PSA 10 demand among graded vintage portfolios built around iconic creatures.

Pokémon Dark Machamp 10/82
10/82 Holo Rare

Dark Machamp

Fighting-type holo. Steady mid-tier demand.

Pokémon Here Comes Team Rocket! 15/82
15/82 Holo Rare

Here Comes Team Rocket!

Trainer card (not a Pokémon) printed as a holographic rare. Unusual within the Base era and collected as a curiosity by completionists.

Pokémon Rocket's Sneak Attack 16/82
16/82 Holo Rare

Rocket's Sneak Attack

Another Trainer card holo. Pairs with Here Comes Team Rocket! as the two non-Pokémon holos in the set.

Pokémon Dark Vaporeon 13/82
13/82 Holo Rare

Dark Vaporeon

The Dark version of Jungle's Vaporeon. Cross-set Eeveelution collectors target this alongside the Jungle holo.

Pokémon Dark Alakazam 1/82
1/82 Holo Rare

Dark Alakazam

The first card by number in Team Rocket. Psychic-type holo with a small but devoted collector base.

Where the market sits in 2026

Karpfolio's database through mid-2026 indicates Team Rocket 1st Edition holographic rares trade at the highest levels of the post-Base-Set WotC era. The driver is the smallest 1st Edition print run of any Base-era expansion, which has produced materially smaller PSA 10 populations across all 16 holos plus the Dark Raichu Secret Rare.

Dark Raichu 83/82 is the unambiguous flagship of Team Rocket and a cross-genre milestone as the first Secret Rare in the TCG. PSA 10 1st Edition Dark Raichu trades in the mid-five figures as of 2026, with PSA 9 examples in the mid-four figures. The card is consistently among the most-bid lots on Goldin and Heritage Auctions for Base-era material.

Dark Charizard 4/82 is the second-tier flagship. While it does not approach Base Set Charizard pricing, the combination of Charizard character demand and Team Rocket print scarcity has supported steady appreciation. PSA 10 1st Edition Dark Charizard trades around the high four to low five figures through 2026.

Related reading: explore the full Base Series era page for Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket and Base Set 2 context, or browse all 61 vintage sets.

Tracking Team Rocket on Karpfolio

Karpfolio tracks Team Rocket with full variant awareness, including the Dark Raichu Secret Rare as its own asset distinct from the standard Holo Rare set. 1st Edition and Unlimited prints have separate sales histories and per-PSA-grade Guide Prices computed from real completed sales across six aggregated sources.

Track Team Rocket for free 7 days free · No credit card · Full access

Quick answers

How many cards are in Pokémon Team Rocket?
Eighty-three cards: 82 in the official numbered set (16 holo rares, 18 rares, 26 uncommons, 22 commons) plus Dark Raichu 83/82 — the first Secret Rare in TCG history. Released by Wizards of the Coast on April 24, 2000.
What is Dark Raichu and why is it valuable?
Dark Raichu 83/82 is the first Secret Rare in TCG history — a card numbered higher than the official set count, indicating it is rarer than standard holographic rares. According to Karpfolio's PSA-grade tracking, PSA 10 1st Edition Dark Raichu trades in the mid-five figures as of 2026 and is consistently among the most-bid Base-era cards at major auction houses.
Are Dark Pokémon a separate type?
In Team Rocket, "Dark" is a card prefix indicating Pokémon stolen and trained by the Team Rocket organisation. Mechanically the cards retain their original Energy types but have lower HP and aggressive movesets reflecting their corrupted training. Dark Pokémon were a Team-Rocket-specific concept and not a permanent type.
Why is Team Rocket 1st Edition so scarce?
Wizards printed a smaller 1st Edition run for Team Rocket than for any other Base Series expansion. The reasons are debated (some attribute it to Wizards reducing 1st Edition allocations as the property matured, others to anticipated demand pivoting toward Gym Series), but the result is the smallest graded PSA 10 population in the Base Series outside of Base Set itself.
Does Team Rocket have a Shadowless variant?
No. Shadowless is exclusive to Base Set. Team Rocket has only 1st Edition and Unlimited print runs.